F Alse A Ssumptions And M Agnificent T Ruths
FALSE ASSUMPTIONS AND MAGNIFICENT TRUTHS
There are clearly mistakes made both by the New Spiritualists and by Christians that are of deep significance. The New Spiritualist assumes that there is no mystical side to Christianity, or if it is acknowledged, it is eviscerated of any truth claims. The New Spiritualist sees in Christianity only hard doctrine that lays down rules for people and is ready to punish them when they break the rules, rather than drawing people in. And sometimes I fear that their caricatures of our heartless preaching and legalistic interpretation of the gospel are correct. The same mistake is often made by those of us who see in the New Spirituality nothing more than sitting in the lotus position with eyes shut and an inward look, with no dogma to proclaim. In this book we have come to see that neither of these generalities is a fair representation.
There is actually a rich and varied historical tradition among Christians who sought the path of mysticism to find tranquillity and serenity apart from the hustle and bustle of life. Unfortunately, more often than not, it became an escape from the real world. There are also legitimate criticisms from those in this movement toward the way Christianity is often presented or perceived.
Very recently, I was the guest of a leading figure from an old and historic Christian tradition in the Middle East. He had done his preparation work for Christian ministry in another Middle Eastern country. Just to be courteous, I asked him if he had enjoyed his seven years of preparation there. He managed a smile and said, “Enjoyed? That would be the one word that does not come to mind. We were in prayer or chanting all day. Then at six o’clock every evening the doors to the monastery were locked and we were not allowed to go out anywhere. The only diversion was an old television with no programming but religious programs. After seven years of that, I was ready to leave the ministry. I did, in fact,” he said. “But my uncle persuaded me to return to the ministry and so here I am now, heading up this historic church.” I shall say no more lest I reveal more than I should. But how sad it is when the lead voice in a historic church says enjoyed is the one word that doesn’t come to his mind in the context of preparation for the Christian ministry.
Christian mysticism has gone to extremes and retreated from the world. It was a mistake. You do not win over life’s struggles by hiding in rocks or barricading yourself from reality and from other people. Although Jesus said his followers were not of the world, as he was not of the world, they were in the world. In fact, he prayed to his Father, “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one” (John 17:15 NIV). In Matthew 5:13–16, he commanded his followers to be salt and light to a deteriorating and dark world. How can one be salt and light when one has removed oneself from the world? This question can also be applied to modern Christians who remove themselves from society, associating only with those with whom they are in agreement.
Today on Mount Athos in Greece, there is a monastery where nothing female is allowed, not even chickens or cows. In fact, the ship we were on could not come closer than a prescribed distance because there were women on board. Readers may remember that the famed Cretan scholar Nikos Kazantzakis, author of the controversial Last Temptation, spent some protracted time on Athos in his search for communion with the divine. How sad that so many throughout Christian history have subjected themselves to such things in their efforts to commune with God, when Jesus stands simply before each of us and says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me” (Revelation 3:20 NIV).
I actually thought of going to Mount Athos and staying there for a week, just for the experience, and I was told that it could be arranged. But with my very serious back problems I decided it could be a costly mistake, since one has to mount a donkey to even get to the last several hundred feet. Yes, that would have been my “monk for a week” experience.
The New Spiritualists make the same blunder, but from the opposite position. In their stress of quietude, retreat, and escape from the bustle, they act as if they have no doctrines. As if there are no rules. As if they have no authority except themselves. It is all about the mysticism and meditation. That is simply not true. The histories of the religions on which their beliefs are principally based have books and sects and rules ad nauseam. The metaphysical scaffolding of the authors they quote is based on a prior commitment to a very particular form of reasoning. Should it not strike us as odd that those who live in “the now” nevertheless sign contracts for the future? That those who are so big on the notions of silence and of emptying the mind of all thought write big books on concepts intended to make you think? That they say the world is illusionary and there is no I/you, and yet they are obviously writing these books for “you”? That enlightenment comes from within in isolation, yet they use the mass method of communication to their own advantage?